


What does being Jewish have to do with the Magic of Christmas?

by ArabellaTurner



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Canon - Book, Canon - Musical, Canon Compliant, Canon Jewish Character, Christmas, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-22 15:11:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17062115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArabellaTurner/pseuds/ArabellaTurner
Summary: Although Jared’s family doesn’t celebrate Christmas, they still like to make a family day out of it. Evan, on the other hand, has no one. When his loneliness gets the best of him, Evan reaches out to Jared and finds himself in for a day of Chinese food, horror movies, and some self-realization.





	1. Christmas is a day for family

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! I know that I’m in the middle of a different fic, but I got the Christmas spirit and wanted to write this while it was still timely. 
> 
> If you have not read the book, the only thing you need to know going into this is that Jared and Evan ran into each other about a week earlier and Jared gave Evan a sort of awkward ride home.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evan Hansen is all alone on Christmas Day and is staring to feel it. Jared Kleinman is not allowed to be alone on Christmas Day and wonders what the point of celebrating a holiday you don’t actually celebrate is.

It’s not that Evan Hansen particularly disliked Christmas. There was nothing inherently wrong with it. He didn’t love it either, but he never felt any animosity towards it. For the most part, Christmas was just another day to him.

Most years his mom took extra shifts on Christmas Day since nurses still needed to work on Christmas and as a Jew, she didn’t mind covering for other people who actually celebrated the holiday. It was nice to get the extra money. This year Evan had also taken a few extra shifts around the day. The mall was closed on Christmas Day, but he had worked pretty much all day Christmas Eve.

Unfortunately, Evan’s down time and his mom’s down time lined up quite poorly, so now he was home alone on Christmas Day. He usually didn’t really mind the solitude. It was better than being in a crowd, at any rate. There was just something sort of lonely about it right now.

Pretty much every channel was either playing some sort of Christmas special, the news, or something sappy about family. Everyone on social media was posting about their gifts and pictures of their families together.

Normally Evan would be fine with this. He would put on a documentary and just wait the day out, but he just couldn’t stop staring at that stupid post. Evan didn’t know why his dad had tagged him in it since it really had nothing to do with him. He didn’t celebrate Christmas and he barely knew any of the people in the picture. Yet for some reason, Evan’s dad had tagged him in a post celebrating his brother’s first Christmas.

Evan supposed his dad was trying to include him in his life in some way, but Evan didn’t want to be included like this. He didn’t want to see pictures of his dad spending time with his new family and celebrating the milestones of his new son while he sat alone in his bedroom eating a bowl of cereal since he didn’t have any other food in the house.

——-

Jared Kleinman groaned a little as his mom gently shook him awake. He wasn’t sure why his family felt the need to make Christmas a family day like this. Sure they were all off and had nothing to do, but he wasn’t sure why they all couldn’t just use the day to sleep in and relax.

Despite Jared’s protests, his parents insisted that it was nice to spend the time together. And it wasn’t bad or anything, but there were a lot of things Jared would rather be doing. To be honest, Jared wasn’t really sure why he came home for winter break. Sure, he didn’t have too many friends in college and all of the few he did have had gone home, but it wasn’t like he had any friends waiting for him back home either.

He guessed his parents wanted to see him, which was fine and all, but going home had caused him to run into Evan.Jared supposed that they had moved on from their fight and forgiven each other. Evan has apologized to him, Jared had told him not to mention it, and that had been the end of it. Only it didn’t feel like the end of it.

Jared had spent all semester trying to convince himself that he didn’t miss Evan or need him in his life. He tried as hard as he could to become a new and improved person. He started working out, he got rid of his ugly glasses, and he started treating people with a little bit more respect. Jared was still a loser, but he was less of one now.

Of course, Jared still wasn’t being completely honest with himself. He knew it was stupid, but for some reason, Jared still couldn’t face the fact that he was gay. None of his friends at college would have any problem with it and he was pretty sure his parents wouldn’t be too upset, but he was absolutely terrified of ever admitting it to anyone.

Maybe it was because, if he ever admitted it, he would have to admit to himself that his feelings for Evan Hansen were more than just friendship. And if he ever admitted that, then he would have to admit to himself that he pushed Evan away out of a fear of rejection. And if he ever admitted that, then he would have to face the facts that he was so afraid of getting hurt by Evan, that he had badly hurt Evan in return. And Jared could never admit that, so he could never admit that he was gay.

Jared let out a loud sigh and made his way to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

————

Evan tried to take his mind off his dad, he really did, but it was just so hard to distract himself. He didn’t have any premium streaming sights, so the websight he was using to watch the documentary had ads. Of course some of those ads had to be related to Christmas. There really was no escaping it!

Evan wondered what the Kleinmans were doing right now. He knew that in the past they used to turn Christmas into a family day. He wondered if they still did it. It seemed like even the other people who weren’t celebrating Christmas were still celebrating far more than he was.

Evan curled himself up into his blanket and tried his best not to cry. He felt so miserable and alone right now. He wished that he had someone to spend the day with, but he had no friends and his mom wouldn’t be back until later that evening.

As Evan sat there staring at the picture, he noticed a little green dot appear indicating that Jared was online. In a desperate attempt to stave off the loneliness, Evan opened up the chat and typed “hi.”


	2. Why are you talking to me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a moment of loneliness, Evan reaches out to Jared.

Jared climbed out of the shower and pulled some clothes on. At least his family didn’t insist on him getting dressed up or anything like that. Once Jared had finished getting ready, he hopped on Facebook for a minute to check in with his college friends. Jared was just about to put his phone down, when he noticed a new message. Taking a look, he realized it was from Evan and his heart skipped a beat.

Why was Evan messaging him? And what was with the vague “hi” he sent? “What do you want?” He replied. The little dots on his phone indicating Evan was texting appeared then disappeared before appearing again. After a minute of this, Jared eventually sent another message. “Look, I know we talked a little last week, but that doesn’t mean we’re friends again, okay?” The dots disappeared once more. Jared then continued, “If you have some sort of emergency, then fine, but otherwise I don’t really want to hear from you.”

Jared felt his stomach stir with guilt and regret when he sent that. While it was true that he was still mad at Evan, he didn’t really want to cut him out entirely. Jared sighed and then sent one more message, “What did you want to talk to me about anyways?”

Evan bit his lip and looked nervously at his phone. He wasn’t surprised that Jared didn’t want to talk to him, but it still hurt. Did he tell Jared the truth about why he was messaging him, or would it only make him mad? Evan supposed Jared couldn’t really hate him more than he already did, so he decided to tell the truth.

“I was lonely,” Evan replied. “My dad posted pictures of himself celebrating Christmas with my half brother and his family and my mom is at work and I feel lonely right now,” Evan admitted.

Damn, Jared thought. That was rough. Before he could reply, he heard a know on his door. “Jared, sweetie, what are you doing?” “Oh, Evan texted me,” Jared replied, knowing that mentioning Evan’s name would keep him out of trouble.

Sure enough, his mom perked up. “Evan, eh? How’s he doing right now? I haven’t heard you mention him much in a long time!” “He’s fine,” Jared muttered. “What’s he up to today?” his mom continued. “He’s just hanging out. His mom is working.” Jared did not like where this conversation was going.

“Why don’t you invite him to join us?” As soon as the dreaded question was out, Jared knew there was no way to avoid it. “Sure. If you think he’d want to come over,” he muttered.

Jared picked his phone back up and started to type, “look, my mom saw we were talking and told me to invite you to join us.” Evan’s heart fluttered. He knew that Jared didn’t want him to come, but he hadn’t quite told him not to. “If you don’t want me to come, I don’t have to. You can tell your mom I have plans or something,” he replied.

“I already told her that you were home alone. That’s why she invited you.” “Oh,” Evan replied. “You could tell her that I’m tired and just want to relax today. Or you could just say that I don’t want to come over if you don’t think she’ll buy my excuses.” “Do you want to come over?” Jared asked.

Evan felt his face grow hot. If he said he wanted to come over, would Jared be mad? If he said he didn’t want to come over, the Kleinman’s might feel hurt, but he didn’t want to ruin the day for Jared. He wasn’t sure what to say.

Jared noticed that Evan wasn’t even typing a response. Deep in his heart, he knew that if Evan hadn’t wanted to come, he wouldn’t have been so vague in his answers. It was clear to Jared that Evan did want to come, but was too scared to admit it. He sighed. Well, at least it wasn’t just going to be a family day.

“My mom was wondering what was taking us so long, so I just told her you were coming. We’ll be by to pick you up to head to the restaurant in 20 minutes.” Evan hugged his phone. He was so happy that he wasn’t going to be alone anymore! “Thank you, Jared. I promise to make this as painless a possible,” he responded. “Whatever,” Jared replied. “See you soon.”


	3. Why are chopsticks so difficult to use?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evan joins the Kleinman’s for dinner and discovers that chopsticks are not his friend.

The ride over to the restaurant was silent and uncomfortable. Mrs. Kleinman worked hard to make small talk, but Evan didn’t really have much to say in response to it. His job was unremarkable, he had no college plans yet, and he didn’t really do anything for fun. 

The awkwardness only continued when they arrived. Evan freaked out when trying to order and Mrs. Kleinman ended up having to do it for him. Jared looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. Evan felt awful for making Jared feel uncomfortable.

Watching Evan fail to order his meal was painful. Jared hadn’t gone out to eat with Evan in a long time, so he was sad to see that Evan still had this problem. He felt bad. When he agreed to let Evan come over, he hadn’t meant to make Evan’s day even worse. 

The meal only continued its downward spiral when the food came. Although it all looked delicious, Evan quickly discovered that chopsticks were not his forte. As he struggled to pick up his food and get it into his mouth, he could see Jared getting more and more annoyed from the seat next to him. 

Eventually, Jared couldn’t take it anymore. He grabbed one of the dumplings off Evan’s the plate. Evan opened his mouth to protest and felt something shoved in there. He choked a little in surprise before realizing it was food and chewing and swallowing it. 

It took him a few seconds to register what had happened, but when he did, Evan’s face turned bright red. He looked over at Jared to find his a matching shade. The two met eyes for a second, before looking away in embarrassment. “I just couldn’t bear to see you looking so pathetic,” Jared mumbled. “Thanks,” Evan whispered.

Before the two boys could decide if they were going to continue eating like this, the waitress came back with a fork for Evan. He managed to squeak out a “thanks” before burying his face in his hands in humiliation. Jared did not fare much better himself. He wondered how he could have been so stupid. Obviously asking for a fork was a smarter choice than feeding Evan!

Suddenly Jared’s appetite seemed to disappear. He found himself silently picking at his food. His parents tried to make conversation with the two boys, but neither of them were particularly responsive. 

The awkward silence was suddenly interrupted when Mrs. Kleinman accidentally spilled her glass of water. It made its way over to Jared and Evan who had to scramble to move the food before it got wet. Unfortunately for Jared, some of the water got on both his shirt and his napkin. Noticing that he had nothing to dry himself with, Evan leaned over and started blotting at him with his napkin.

Jared felt his face grow red again as he felt Evan brush up against him. Evan’s face was filled with concern, not yet aware of the embarrassing nature of the situation. Jared hoped he wouldn’t realize. He missed this side of Evan. He missed the snarky side of Evan too. It was a side few people had seen other than him, and Jared loved knowing that he knew Evan more intimately than most of the world did.

He supposed the cold and distant side of Evan was also one that not many people ever got to see. Jared wondered if he should consider himself lucky that he had been able to see so many sides to the normally timid and awkward Evan Hansen. 

Jared’s musings were interrupted by a serving coming over to help clean up the water. He and Evan sat back down and tried their best to avoid eye contact, but Jared couldn’t help be steal a few glances at his former best friend. So far, the day had proved that, despite his constant protests that he was completely straight, he was very much not over Evan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mrs. Kleinman is a good mom who just wants her son to be happy.


	4. Horror movies and chill is only fun if there is actually chilling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evan and Jared have a horror movie marathon and Evan tries his best do deal with the fact that he hates horror movies.

After dinner, the four of them went back to the Kleinman’s house to watch movies. Usually Jared watched them with his parents, but he wanted to do a horror movie marathon which they had no interest in. Evan didn’t particularly want to watch horror movies either, but when Jared asked him to back him up, Evan couldn’t find it in himself to say no.

Jared knew that asking for horror movies was a little selfish. He was the only one who even liked them, but the thought of Evan freaking out beside him was too good to pass up. He told himself that it was just because he loved watching Evan freak out, but he couldn’t shake off the desire to have Evan cling onto him in fright.

Once the two boys got down to the basement, Jared navigated to the horror section of Netflix and picked one of the better rated movies. Evan curled up on the side of the couch and clutched a pillow tightly.

For the first hour of the movie, Jared and Evan sat on opposite sides of the couch. Evan hid his face in the pillow a lot, but even just the sound of the screaming and the music agitated him. He felt sick to his stomach and was trying not to cry. Movies like this never sat well with him. He didn’t like the senseless gore, the creepy vibe, or the jump scares. He especially hated those. He wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take.

He wondered briefly if he should just head home. His mom would be back from work soon, but he knew that she would be tired and want to sleep. Besides, she sounded so happy when he had told her that he was going to the Kleinman’s. He didn’t want to disappoint her, so he decided to just suck it up and stay.

Jared started to wonder if horror movies had been a mistake. Evan looked miserable and he was too far away to cling onto him. He debated just turning the movie off and watching something else, but he couldn’t figure out an excuse that would sound convincing. He knew that wasn’t really fair to Evan, but he just wasn’t ready to let himself open up like that again. Or for the first time, if he was being honest.

After a few more minutes of pure agony on Evan’s part, Jared came up with a plan. Waiting until he knew a jump scare would be coming up, he adjusted his position and waited. As soon as the monster popped up, he yelled and sprung onto Evan. Just as he had hoped, Evan responded by grabbing onto him and squeezing tightly.

Once the moment had passed, the two of them let go of each other, but now Jared was much closer to Evan. By the time the monster had come back, Evan’s face was tightly buried in his shirt. The two of them stayed that way for the rest of the movie. Evan still whimpered a little, bit he seemed a lot less tense now that Jared’s arm was around him.

Evan wasn’t sure why Jared was still watching a movie he was so scared of. He supposed Jared probably wanted the bragging rights of saying he had seen it, but was too scared to watch it on his own. Even supposed that was also why he was allowed to cling onto Jared like this. Jared’s body was warm and comforting and he supposed his must be the same for Jared. 

When the movie finally ended and the lone survivor seemed like they had finally reached safety, the two boys untangled themselves and looked around.

Evan really didn’t want to watch another horror movie, but Jared had said “marathon,” so there would likely be at least two more. Jared also had no desire to watch another one. It wasn’t that he was scared, he watched horror movies alone all the time, but he didn’t want to watch Evan suffer like that through another horror movie. Only he had said “marathon,” so it didn’t make sense for them to only watch one.

Jared went back to the Netflix menu to see if he could find a different one to watch. He knew that some were a little more plot heavy and a little less jump-scary, so maybe one of those would work. As he was navigating the menus, he noticed a cheesy Christmas movie pop up. It was one of those crappy Hallmark type movies that were painful to watch.

And then Jared had an idea. “Hey Evan,” he said. “Can you run up and grab us some snacks? I’m going to get the next movie setup. I have a really scary one in mind!” Evan gulped and nodded before heading upstairs.

Evan was greeted by Mrs. Kleinman in the kitchen. “How are you and Jared doing down there, sweetie?” she asked cheerfully. Evan gave a weak smile. “We’re having fun,” he lied. “Jared said he picked out a really scary movie for the next one. Hopefully I’ll be able to handle it,” he continued. “If you don’t like what you’re watching, please feel free to come up and join me and Steve,” Mrs. Kleinman told Evan. “Sure,” Evan lied again. He had no intention of making a big deal of it in front of Jared, but he didn’t want to let Mrs. Kleinman know about that. 

Evan grabbed a bag of chips and made his way back down to the basement. He could hear ads playing when he entered and wondered why Jared had switched from Netflix to TV. “The movie has already started, but I think you’ll be able to follow along no problem,” Jared informed Evan as he grabbed a handful of chips. Evan only nodded and sat back down close to Jared. He pulled a part of Jared’s blanket over himself and took a deep breath.

The second the movie came back on, Evan was beyond confused. “Are we watching a Hallmark Christmas movie?” he asked. “Yup! One of the scariest things I can think of!” Jared replied happily. “Between the lazy writing, bad acting, and crappy plot lines, these movies are truly the greatest horror know to mankind!”

Before he knew it, Evan was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down his cheeks. That had to be one of the most ridiculous things he had ever heard someone say before! And there was no way Jared didn’t know how absurd it sounded. Yet Jared didn’t change the channel. The horror movie Evan had been dreading turned out to be some weird love story about two people brought together by “the magic of Christmas.” He was beyond grateful to Jared for doing this for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ll be honest. I hate most horror movies and was very much projecting onto Evan here.


	5. don’t you know that the Magic of Christmas is universal?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared and Evan find themselves bonding over the rediculous plot of a Hallmark Christmas movie.

Evan’s laugh was the most beautiful thing Jared had ever heard in his life. It was bright and warm and filled him with happiness from head to toe. Jared wanted to make Evan laugh like that all the time. He wanted to make him smile like that all the time too. He felt really happy at that moment and wished that it would never end. He imagined how wonderful it would be if things could stay like this forever.

As the two of them watched an uptight business lady and a down to earth farm guy go from enemies to lovers because of some farm and a couple of horses, Jared started to wonder if the story was actually ridiculous after all. Well, no. The story was still absolutely terrible, but maybe there was some truth in the message? Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to let some of his feelings show.

Jared looked over at Evan and noticed that he had a big sappy grin on his face. Apparently he seemed to like stuff like this. Who knew? Jared put an arm around Evan and pulled him in a little closer. Evan looked at him in a little bit of confusion. “What?” Jared asked innocently, “I need someone to comfort me from all the horror of this movie!” Evan chuckled in response and snuggled up against Jared. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this happy.

As the movie was coming to an end and the couple were finally acknowledging their feelings for each other, Jared’s mom made her way down to the basement with a couple of mugs of hot chocolate. She had been worried about Evan ever since they had spoken and when he hadn’t come back up, she decided to head down and check on him.

The sight she saw both surprised her and warmed her heart. Before making her presence know, she snapped a quick picture of the two boys to send to Heidi. They were cuddled up together on the couch as romantic Christmas music played from the TV. She wasn’t really sure what they were watching, but it clearly wasn’t horror.

“Are you two boys watching a Christmas movie?” She asked as she brought the hot chocolate to them. “A Hallmark Christmas movie,” Jared clarified. “It’s one of the most frightening things in the world!” “Oh, absolutely,” Evan agreed. “I’m going to have nightmares about it for the rest of my life!” Mrs. Kleinman laughed. Evan looked so much happier than he did when she had spoken to him earlier. And Jared, well she couldn’t remember the last time her son looked so happy. Or the last time he had gotten so close to someone.

She knew that he had friends in college now, but she couldn’t imagine him snuggling with any of them. “Horror or not, I still don’t know if I approve of Christmas movies in my good, Jewish household!” she teased her son. “Mom!” he complained, “don’t you know that the Magic of Christmas is universal?!” Mrs. Kleinman looked confused for a second before she heard the movie say almost the exact same line. All three of them laughed. 

“Well, I stand corrected. Please carry on with your ‘horror’ movie marathon!” she said with a smile. “If you need anything, feel free to come on up. You boys have fun!” She waved then went back upstairs to text Heidi and tell her all about this exciting turn of events.

Once Evan stopped laughing, he tried to focus on the movie again, but he couldn’t quite clear his head of Jared’s comment. “Did you really mean what you said?” he finally asked. “Mean what I said about what?” Jared replied, confused. “About the magic of Christmas. Like, I know you were just quoting the movie, but do you think that maybe there is some sort of magical Christmas power?” Evan blushed and looked away. That was a really stupid question.

Jared thought for a second. He hadn’t meant his comment seriously, but the day had been pretty magical. He went from barely being able to handle the thought of Evan to starting to accept that his feelings for Evan might make him gay. “I don’t know Ev,” he admitted. “I think it would be nice if it did though. If there really was a day when the impossible became possible and icy hearts are truly melted, then I’d want that day to exist, even if I don’t celebrate it.”

Evan smiled at Jared’s answer. “I want it to be real as well.” Jared’s heart started to race. Evan was so close, real, and warm. He had just mentioned the thawing of icy hearts and the impossible becoming possible. If there was ever a time to act, this was it. 

“I know one way we can test it out,” Jared whispered. Evan looked at him confused. “You do?” He asked. Jared nodded then leaned in close towards Evan so that there faces were less than an inch apart. “May I?” he softly asked. He looked lovingly into Evan’s eyes and wished with every fiber of his being that Christmas really did have magic.

Jared felt like his heart had just burst. The emotions exploded forth in a painful wave. It wasn’t the bad kind of pain though. It was the kind that, once expelled, left him feeling nothing but warmth and joy. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he hungrily placed his lips tighter onto Evan’s.

For his part, Evan felt relief wash over him as Jared leaned back into the kiss. When Jared has asked him “may I,” Evan assumed he was referring to a kiss, but he had not been 100% sure. He was terrified that he was going to destroy their friendship, yet his desire to act was stronger than his fear. 

The two of them continued to kiss until they eventually needed to pull apart to breath. It hadn’t been the most romantic of kisses. Their teeth had clanked and neither seemed to know what to do with his tongue, but the feelings were there and that was what really mattered.


	6. Is this really okay?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared and Evan take a step back and make sure they aren’t moving too fast.

After the kiss, Jared recovered his voice first. “So, I guess it really is real after all,” he said with a smile. Evan just grinned and grabbed him, pulling him in for another kiss.

At first, the two of them were content just to watch another Christmas movie and enjoy the cheesy, sappiness of all, but eventually Evan started to fidget a little. 

“What’s wrong, Ev?” Jared asked concerned. “I mean, we just kissed and it was wonderful, but is this really okay?” “What do you mean?” Jared asked softly. “If you’re worried about coming out as bi to your mom, I’m sure that she will be perfectly understanding and accepting. And I promise I’ll come out to my parents soon too. I’ve sort of know that I’m gay for a while now and just never had the courage to admit it. Don’t worry, Ev. I won’t let anyone ever hurt you.”

Evan blushed deeply and squeezed Jared’s hand. “Thanks, Jare,” he said softly, his heart fluttering at the use of the nickname. “That means a lot to me, but that not what I meant.” “What did you mean?” Jared sounded a little worried. “I just mean that earlier today I thought you hated me and now it seems like you love me. I feel like we’re moving too fast. And I feel like after senior year, I barely even know you anymore.” Evan’s eyes filled with tears as he said it. He was worried Jared would be mad, but he didn’t think that he could just jump into a relationship like this.

Jared smiled a little sadly at Evan then turned off the TV. “As much as I hate to admit it, I think you’re right,” he eventually agreed. “But maybe this just means that we need to take this chance to actually get to know each other. It was probably around fifth grade when we stared to grow apart, so let me start there.”

Over the next few hours, Jared and Evan opened up to each other. At times it was difficult to do so, yet once the two of them started, they realized they couldn’t stop. Jared was a blubbering, sobbing mess by the time Evan told him how he actually broke his arm. He held it close and kissed it over and over again. “I’m sorry Evan! I’m so, so, so sorry! I had no idea you felt that way! You don’t still feel that way, do you?” Evan assured Jared that he didn’t. He still wasn’t completely better now, but he wasn’t in such a dark place anymore and didn’t think he ever would be again. 

The two of them told each other everything. Jared confessed his internalized homophobia and his fear of rejection and Evan admitted that somewhere along the lines of the Connor Project, he stopped truly caring about anyone but himself. Jared tried to object and say that Evan did a great thing and was surrounded by people who treated him no better, but Evan wouldn’t accept it.

“Jared, I know I already apologized once, but I really am sorry for forgetting who my friends were.” Jared shook his head. “You didn’t forget Evan. I just wasn’t enough of a friend to you for you to remember me.” “You were my only friend Jared! You still are!” Jared shook his head again. “I cannot, for even a second, pretend that Zoe didn’t actually love you. And not just because of the lies about Connor. She loved you for you. And I think that Alana also saw you as a friend. And once you go off to college, you will be surrounded by even more friends! I love being your friend, Evan! More than anything else in the world, but I don’t want to be your only friend and I don’t think that I am.”

Evan hugged Jared tightly. He wasn’t sure if he believed his words, but he knew that Jared genuinely cared about him and that he really believed what he was saying. “Oh, and for the record, Evan, my parents have never paid for my car insurance.” Evan only squeezed him tighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the idea of Jared and Evan becoming a couple as much as anyone, but I don’t want to rush them into it. Evan might act on impulse sometimes, but I can’t picture him making such a big decision so easily.


	7. Changed for the better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evan decides its time to head home, but when he and Jared head upstairs, they meet an unexpected guest.

When they were finally done telling their stories, they turned the TV back on only to find that the Christmas movies had stopped. It was already 2am. Christmas was over.

“So, now that Christmas is over, what do we do?” Evan asked. “What do you mean?” Jared replied. “Didn’t you watch that second movie? Christmas isn’t just a day! It lives in our hearts every day! It doesn’t matter what day it is, or where we are, or what’s currently happening. My feelings for you are never going to change. And if you aren’t ready for a relationship yet, then I’m willing to wait. And if you don’t want one with me, then I’m willing to stand by and support you as you find happiness.”

Evan smiled at Jared. “That means a lot to me, Jare, but you don’t need to go that far. Not just because that’s an insane amount of dedication, but also because I do really want to date you. It’s true that I’m not really ready to jump into a full on relationship just yet, but I think if we start slow and work our way back to where we were today, I could handle that.” “Of course, Evan. Just being by your side fills me with joy. There is absolutely no rush!”

Evan squeezes Jared’s hand, satisfied with that answer. “Thank you Jare. I hate to kill the mood, but I should probably head home soon. It’s super late now.” Jared nodded, “Okay. I’ll drive you back.”

The two boys tiptoed up the stairs, careful to not make too much noise. As it turned out, it didn’t really matter how much noise they made since both of Jared’s parents were still up and sitting on the couch along with a third person. “Mom?!” Evan asked, excitedly, “what are you doing here?” Heidi beamed when she saw her son holding Jared’s hand. “Well, after my shift I went home and napped for a couple of hours, then I can over here to join you, but once I arrived I learned that you and Jared were having a really good time and I didn’t want to interrupt!” 

Evan felt guilty. “I’m sorry you came over to spend time with me and I wasn’t available,” he apologized. “Oh, no honey! Don’t feel bad! I’m really happy that you had a good time! I know that you and Jared had a bit of a rough patch, so I’m thrilled to see that you seem to be doing better now!” Jared grinned. “We sure are! I was a real dick before, but I know that I’ve changed for the better!” Mrs. Kleinman made a slight tisking noise at Jared’s use of the word “dick,” but decided to let it go for the sake of what he was saying. “I’ve changed too,” Evan added. “We both hurt each other, but we’re both ready to try again.” Evan looked at Jared, silently asking him if it was okay for him to continue. Jared nodded. “Jared and I have decided to start dating. We plan on taking it slow at first, but he’s someone really important to me and I don’t want to deny my feelings.” “And I refuse to deny mine any longer,” Jared added. “I’ve loved Evan for years now, but for some stupid reason pretended that I didn’t. Hell, I couldn’t even admit that I liked guys! I’m admitting it now though. I like guys and I love Evan!”

The next twenty minutes or so we’re spent in a combination of hugs and tears. Jared felt a little stupid for being so scared to come out, but mainly he just felt relieved. The true Jared Kleinman was finally showing through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heidi is also a good mom who just wants her son to be happy.


	8. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Christmas is over, Jared and Evan return to their normal lives a little better off for it.

The rest of winter break was pure bliss. Sure, course enrollment and shifts at Pottery Barn sucked, but dating was amazing. Dating is perhaps a strong term, as all they really did was hang out and occasionally kiss, but it was still amazing. 

Although Jared had declared his undying love for Evan, Evan still didn’t quite feel comfortable saying “I love you” to Jared. And Jared respected that. There was a lot of baggage between them and it would take time for true love to form, but Jared was willing to wait. And despite Evan’s objections, Jared truly believed that as long as Evan was happy, he would be happy too. 

Unfortunately, winter break eventually came to an end and Jared had to return to school. He promised that he would text Evan every day and Skype him at least once a week. He was not going to let the distance get in his way.

It was Evan’s idea that they also write each other emails. He pointed out that technically they had already done that and it seemed like a good tradition to follow. Jared was surprised by the suggestion, but he had a feeling that Evan viewed it as a way to put the past behind him and move on with his life, so he agreed. He just first made Evan promise that it wouldn’t be “one of those secret email accounts used for sending each other pictures of their penises.” He was met with a smack, a laugh, and a kiss. 

Just as promised, the two boys remained in touch. Every day one of them sent an email to the other. Jared convinced Evan to send him pictures of himself so he could show them off to his friends while he bragged about his amazing boyfriend. Evan begrudgingly took a few and sent them along with a ton of tree pictures. Upon seeing the trees, Jared scolded Evan for sending penis pictures after all. His next email then informed Evan that he was “rubbing his nipples and moaning in delight.” Evan threatened to break up with him on the spot and Jared had to make a quick Skype call to calm the poor boy down.

As the year wore on, Jared and Evan kept each other up to date with their lives. Evan let Jared know when he reached out to apologize to Alana and when he met with Zoe in the orchard. The most important email he sent to Jared, however, happened near the end of the school year.

There wasn’t much text in the body, but there was a document attached. Jared cried when he opened it. It was Evan’s college acceptance letter. Starting the next semester, they would be be attending the same college.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this work! I wanted to write something Christmas oriented without stomping on the fact that Jared and Evan are Jewish.


End file.
